Date: Thu, 17 Nov 1994 09:39:59 -0500 (EST) From: "JOHN FANNING, CDC NAC" Subject: CDC AIDS DAILY SUMMARY 11/17/94 AIDS Daily Summary November 17, 1994 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "End of Co-Op Dispute Hailed As Victory for Gay Couples" "Obituaries: Tom Villard" "AIDS Cases Transmitted by Mothers Up Sharply" "Funds Sought for AIDS Vaccine Testing" "Prenatal AZT Cuts Babies' AIDS" "Isis Pharmaceuticals Announces Agreement with Zeneca Ltd. for Manufacture of Novel Anti-HIV Compound" "Hyperthermia Treatment Shows Positive Results on AIDS Patients" "No Enforcement Seen of Paris AIDS Summit Accord" "Ethical Challenges Posed by Zidovudine Treatment to Reduce Vertical Transmission of HIV" "In the Works:Lenscrafters Hit with Suit" ************************************************************ "End of Co-Op Dispute Hailed As Victory for Gay Couples" New York Times (11/17/94) P. B3; Dunlap, David W. Five years after the death of his companion and one year after his own death from AIDS, Harry Kirkpatrick has won the right to inherit an apartment that he and his companion shared. The settlement grants a privilege customarily extended to married couples--that a surviving partner can automatically inherit the lease to an apartment and shares in a co-op without the board's consent. The settlement was reached between the New York City Human Rights Commission--which handles discrimination cases--and the board of 60 Sutton Place South. Ownership of the apartment will now transfer to Marc Tosca, Kirkpatrick's companion of recent years. Kirkpatrick was twice denied board approval when he sought ownership of the apartment that had belonged to his partner, who died of AIDS in 1989. A member of the Human Rights Commission said that the board's discretion became discrimination because the board "couldn't articulate any clear reason for not having him become part of the community there." Bud G. Holman, president of the board, said that the board members were afraid that Kirkpatrick would use the apartment as a rental property while he lived elsewhere. "Domestic partners should have the same rights. There should be no discrimination because of AIDS and homosexual relationships," said Mr. Tosca. "Obituaries: Tom Villard" Washington Post (11/17/94) P. C7 Actor Tom Villard, who continued to work in movies and television after publicizing his illness, has died of AIDS-related pneumonia at age 40. He is best known for his role in the 1980s NBC comedy "We Got It Made," but has made several appearances on "Frasier," "Sisters," and "Star Trek: Deep Space 9." He also appeared in the movies "Heartbreak Ridge," "My Girl," and "The Trouble With Dick," which won the Grand Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Related Stories: New York Times (11/17) P. D23; St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/16) P. 14A "AIDS Cases Transmitted by Mothers Up Sharply" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/16/94) P. 1A; Signor, Roger The rate of maternal-infant transmission of HIV has sharply increased in the St. Louis, Mo., area. The AIDS clinic of St. Louis Children's Hospital has 24 infected children and 16 others at risk of developing HIV. The clinic has seen 17 new cases this year of children who are infected or at risk of developing HIV. Another clinic at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital has 10 babies with AIDS and is monitoring five more who were prenatally exposed to HIV. Doctors say the problem will increase because there are more women of childbearing age who are contracting HIV through unsafe sex. Dr. Gregory A. Storch, chief of the infectious diseases unit at St. Louis Children's Hospital, said that giving AZT to mothers early in their pregnancy is the best way to prevent AIDS in babies. The drug, he said, will keep 75 percent of the babies born to infected mothers from developing the disease. "Funds Sought for AIDS Vaccine Testing" Boston Globe (11/16/94) P. 37; Greenberger, Scott S. Massachusetts health officials, AIDS researchers, and activists lobbied Tuesday for $5 million to increase an encouraging therapeutic vaccine trial. The group claimed that the federal government has withheld research money slated for vaccines that strengthen the immune system, thus, ignoring a hopeful path in the fight against AIDS. They also claimed that $20 million appropriated by Congress in 1992 has been "redirected." The gp160 vaccine has been given to 139 HIV-infected Massachusetts residents and has shown promising results, according to Assistant Public Health Commissioner Dr. Alfred DeMaria. The federal funding would allow the study to include up to 2,400 participants. David Scondras of the Massachusetts AIDS Fund Advisory Board claimed that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has overlooked immune-based solutions to AIDS and has targeted federal dollars on to eliminate the disease with a "magic bullet." He said such studies should continue, but federal funds should also support other paths. Others claimed that NIH has failed to promote "community-based" research, such as the gp160 study. While not responding to any of the charges, an NIH spokesman said that the government is increasing its investigation into HIV and centralizing its efforts. "Prenatal AZT Cuts Babies' AIDS" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/16/94) P. 14A; Signor, Roger Doctors in St. Louis hospitals are creating one-stop clinics to increase treatment and testing among pregnant mothers and children. Doctors at the Washington University Medical Center want to increase the chances that a pregnant mother with HIV receives AZT before she is four-and-a-half months pregnant. AZT reduces the rate of AIDS in babies by almost 70 percent. "To find enough time to get children treated at clinics, women frequently defer getting tests or check-ups for themselves," says Dr. Victoria Fraser, an infectious disease expert at Barnes Hospital, which received a federal grant to set up its center where children and women with AIDS can be tested and treated. "Isis Pharmaceuticals Announces Agreement with Zeneca Ltd. for Manufacture of Novel Anti-HIV Compound" PR Newswire (11/16/94) Through its Cambridge Research Biochemicals (CRB) unit, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has signed an agreements with Zeneca Ltd. for the manufacture of Isis' anti-HIV compound, ISIS 5320. Zeneca-CRB will employ solution phase chemical synthesis to make enough ISIS 5320 to enable Isis to complete preclinical studies and to begin clinical trials. According to Isis, this will be the first time solution phase chemical synthesis will be used to create an oligonucleotide for clinical trials. ISIS 5320 inhibits HIV-1 infection in vitro by preventing virus-to-cell infection and cell-to-cell infection. "Hyperthermia Treatment Shows Positive Results on AIDS Patients" PR Newswire (11/16/94) Biocontrol Technology, Inc. has received test results of its whole-body extracorporeal hyperthermia procedure. IDT, Inc.--a subsidiary of Biocontrol--and Hemocleanse, Inc. sponsored the clinical Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved study that was conducted on AIDS patients in an Indiana hospital. Biocontrol's treatment involves heating the blood to approximately 144.8 degrees Fahrenheit. "Clinically, the patients appear to be doing better now than they were pre-treatment. Indeed, some of them are greatly hoping that they can undergo a double treatment which was in the original FDA protocol," stated Dr. Corklin Steinhart, a member of IDT's medical advisory team. IDT has applied to the FDA for a second study and is optimistic that it will be approved in the near future. "No Enforcement Seen of Paris AIDS Summit Accord" Reuters (11/16/94); Arieff, Irwin While organizers of the Dec. 1 Paris AIDS Summit say that the global action plan will help bring about needed reforms in how world leaders deal with the disease, the accord will have no enforcement mechanism which, they say will make it largely a symbolic move. The accord will advocate condom use and sterile syringe distribution and will call for an end to travel restrictions on infected persons. There will not be, however, sanctions on those who refuse to implement it. The intent of the plan was to show that the political will exists to fight AIDS effectively, the officials said. "Ethical Challenges Posed by Zidovudine Treatment to Reduce Vertical Transmission of HIV" New England Journal of Medicine (11/03/94) Vol. 331, No. 18, P. 1223; Bayer, Ronald Despite the prospect of great benefits from the study showing that the use of zidovudine (AZT) can help reduce maternal-infant transmission of HIV, many ethical questions remain unanswered. The most important issue is whether AZT will put at risk the 70 to 80 percent of children who, though born to infected women, would not have been infected themselves. Many clinicians argue that the case for testing pregnant women for HIV is now stronger than ever, but many AIDS and women's rights advocates are skeptical about the claims on behalf of AZT treatment during pregnancy. The underlying fear is that the new findings would be used to undermine the privacy rights of pregnant women at risk for HIV--the majority of whom are poor, black, or Hispanic women. Mandatory screening of children could be justifiable if therapeutic interventions could significantly extend the lives of infected children because treatment would be necessary, despite parental objections. Mandatory screening of pregnant women, however, is problematic because mandatory treatment of competent adults is rarely acceptable. Also, no recommendation for HIV testing would be ethical if access to the necessary therapy and counseling were not guaranteed. The daily five-dose AZT regimen would be too difficult and too expensive to enforce. "In the Works:Lenscrafters Hit with Suit" Advocate (11/01/94) No. 667, P. 34 Timothy Hale--a reputed sales superstar at Lenscrafters, has filed a $50 million AIDS discrimination suit against the store. Hale claims that his manager brought in the health department to post warning signs about transmission of AIDS. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, however, does not consider this kind of workplace a risk. Hale also claims that he was made to tell all management-level employees that he had AIDS. Hale's partner says he initially had asked only that the manager be transferred, but when Lenscrafters tried to "buy him out" instead, he filed the suit.